I also play a cricket game called Battrick and depending on where you finish there is a bonus at the end of the season. I much prefer BB in everyway but this fiasco with teams gunning for 5th place over making playoffs is pretty ridiculous really. As it is, teams need to weigh up making a loss but have a better "last season" report, against making no loss and having a worse report. No brainer? I think so.
Personally I would like to see bonuses for the top 4 teams in each conference (more for finishing higher), to entice teams to push harder for finals. It's too easy to just sit back for a season or two in 5th, saving cash and building towards a big push at the title. If there was a little more visible incentive, managers may be more inclined to take chances, in order to finish higher on the ladder. No way should 5th better more attractive than 3rd or 4th.